Pluto TV
| founders = Tom Ryan Ilya Pozin | hq_location_city = Los Angeles, California | hq_location_country = United States | key_people = | products = | owner = | parent = Viacom | website = }} Pluto TV is an American streaming service owned by Viacom. The service was founded in 2013 and is based in Los Angeles, California. Pluto TV is free, ad-supported VOD service that, in addition to on-demand options, primarily distributes its content through digital linear channels designed to emulate the experience of traditional broadcast programming. The service's revenue is generated from video advertisements seen between programming. Pluto TV licenses its content directly from providers, and has deals with more than 75 content partners as of 2017. Its content is available via its website and supported apps. As of July 2019, the service averaged 18 million monthly active users. History Early Years (2013-2019) In 2014, Pluto TV raised $13 million in series A funding. In May 2014, Pluto released a digital video recorder feature to their website. In July 2015, Pluto TV signed a deal with Hulu to distribute Hulu's free video content. In October 2015, they added 20 additional channels, bringing the total number of additional channels to above 100. On May 15, 2016, Pluto TV signed a deal with Sony to launch the Pluto TV app on the PlayStation Store for the Sony PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. In 2016, the company raised $30 million in series B venture capital funding, valuing the company at $140 million. The round was led by German TV station ProSieben, with additional funding from telecommunications company Sky UK. Pluto Inc. added a chief programming officer role in April, 2017. In 2017, Pluto TV added a large library of movies and television shows on demand. Pluto's library is licensed from MGM, Viacom, Columbia TriStar, DHX Media, Nelvana, Fremantle, Monstercat, King Features Syndicate, and other studios. On September 11, 2018, Pluto TV launched a channel dedicated to Hell's Kitchen. ''Variety'' reported that , the service was averaging 6 million users per month, and was rated one of the most-watched apps on Roku, . A channel dedicated to movies from The Asylum was added in June 2017. On October 17, 2017, Impact Wrestling announced they were launching a channel on Pluto TV. By October 2017, Pluto TV reached over 15 million users. In August 2018, Vizio announced a new streaming experience called WatchFree, built into several models of its lineup of Internet-connected smart TVs. This service is powered by Pluto TV, and Vizio advertised "an easy-to-navigate, cable-like interface" in the announcement. In October 2018, Pluto TV launched in the United Kingdom on Sky's Now TV service. On December 4, 2018, Pluto TV launched in Germany and Austria, also through Sky. Purchase by Viacom (2019-present) In January 2019, Viacom announced its intention to acquire Pluto for $340 million. The deal was completed on March 4, 2019. Viacom's plans for Pluto TV include more licensed content from Viacom, expansion into Latin America, availability on smart TVs, and paid subscriptions. On March 18, 2019, Viacom announced plans to launch Pluto TV worldwide. In April 2019, Pluto signed a distribution deal with BBC Studios to air episodes of Doctor Who and Antiques Roadshow. The channels would evenutally be launched on June 11, 2019. Also, in April 2019, Pluto announced a channel that features content from CNN, and confirmed that it would add new content from CONtv to its library. On May 1, 2019, Pluto introduced channels based on Viacom cable outlets and other owned properties, including content from Paramount Pictures, BET, Comedy Central, Logo, Nickelodeon, and MTV. Among those channels is a revival of Spike, which had folded a year prior. The free channels do not match the feeds received by cable and satellite subscribers; the online versions focus primarily on archival content and series that Pluto TV has acquired from other providers. On May 13, 2019, Pluto launched a channel dedicated to Major League Soccer. On May 14, 2019, Pluto launched a channel dedicated to the series Midsomer Murders. On May 20, 2019, "The Young Turks Network" was launched. On May 29, 2019, Pluto TV launched on Amazon Fire TV in the UK, Germany and Austria. On June 4, 2019, Pluto launched "Pluto TV Weddings" and a channel for Viacom's Logo cable network. On June 27, 2019, "Pluto TV Drama", "Pluto TV Movies" and "Pluto TV Food" were added to Channel 5's My5 on-demand lineup, with My5 channels being launched on Pluto UK in August 2019 (by September 2019 the "Pluto TV Weddings" channel had also been added to Pluto UK's line-up along with the "Conspiracy", "BIOgraphy" and "Animals" channel options, though apart from the three My5 channels, there have been no additional services based on Viacom's international portfolio of TV brands, that have come onto the UK app ). On June 13, 2019, Pluto TV was launched on Comcast's Xfinity X1 cable boxes. On July 1, 2019, the "Pluto TV Latino" suite of channels were launched. On July 9, 2019, "British TV" was launched. On July 23, 2019, Pluto added Eleven Sports Network and a River Monsters channel. On July 17, 2019, Pluto launched a channel dedicated to Dora the Explorer. On July 23, Pluto launched "Totally Turtles", a channel dedicated to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. On July 30, 2019, Pluto launched three MTV-branded music video channels: "Biggest Pop" for pop hits, "Yo!" for rap songs, and "Spankin' New" for new music and up-and-coming artists. On August 20, 2019, Comedy Central Roast (dedicated to the Comedy Central Roast specials), CMT Cheer 24/7 (dedicated to Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team) and TV Land Drama were launched. At the same time, Pluto TV's existing Sitcoms channel was relaunched under the TV Land brand. The service also announced the launch of a National Football League channel containing reruns of classic games, NFL Films retrospectives and reruns of Hard Knocks. A Deadline Hollywood piece identified Pluto TV as a potential outlet for CBS streaming content following the announcement of CBS Corporation's re-merger with Viacom in August 2019. Pluto already carries CBS's free online news service CBSN and technology & video game-oriented CNET Video. On August 27, 2019, Pluto launched "Dogs 24/7" and MTV-branded channels dedicated to Wild 'N Out, Ridiculousness, MTV Cribs, The Challenge, and Are You the One?. On September 1, 2019, "Pluto TV 007", a channel dedicated to the James Bond franchise was launched. On September 3, 2019, Pluto TV added Fuse TV. On September 6, 2019, Pluto TV became available on Apple TV devices in Europe. On September 11, 2019, "Pluto TV SCIFI" launched. On September 17, 2019, Gameplay Roblox, "BET Homecoming", a BET Her-branded channel, "VH1 Unscripted", "VH1 Hip Hop Family", and binge watch channels of Black Ink Crew, Love & Hip Hop, RuPaul's Drag Race, and a channel with This Old House and Ask This Old House were all launched. On September 24, 2019, Pluto TV became available on Android devices in Europe. On October 1, 2019, channels dedicated to Degrassi: The Next Generation and the remastered version of Baywatch were launched. Also launched on that date was TBN and the Hillsong Channel, both of which were the first explicitly televangelistic channels to be offered through the service. Finally, channels for "MTV Holla! Ween" (horror rock music videos and other music curated for Halloween), "MTV Block Party", "Pluto TV Terror", and channels dedicated to The Addams Family, American Gladiator, Criss Angel Mindfreak and Fear Factor were also launched. On October 15, 2019, Pluto added 11 new channels to their Latino suite, along with The First. Programming As of September 1, 2019, Pluto TV carries over 200 channels packaging content acquired through various syndication deals and from Viacom's internal library. Traditional television channels whose feeds are carried directly on Pluto include NASA TV, WeatherNation TV, Buzzr (owned by Fremantle), Newsmax TV, Bloomberg Television, RT, and Stadium (owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group). Current partners * The Asylum * BBC Studios * Big Sky Conference * Bloomberg Television * CBSN * Cheddar News * CNET * CNN * Complex * CONtv * Dash Radio * Eleven Sports Network * Fox Sports * Fremantle * Fuse * Geek and Sundry * Glory Kickboxing * IGN * King Features Syndicate * Hulu * Impact Wrestling * Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide * Major League Soccer * Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer * Monstercat * Nelvana * Nerdist * Newsmax TV * Newsy * NASA TV * National Football League * NBC News * People Magazine * RT * Shout! Factory * Sinclair Broadcast Group * Sky News * Sony Pictures * WeatherNation TV * WildBrain * The Young Turks Availability Pluto TV's supported devices include: Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, PlayStation 4, Android and iOS mobile devices, and Chromecast. It is also available on Microsoft Windows and MacOS computers. Outside of the United States, Pluto TV and its apps are currently available in the United Kingdom, Europe, Germany, and Austria. Pluto is also available in countries such as Canada, but only in a limited capacity due to program rights. See also * Philo (company), another service partly owned by Viacom References External links * Category:Video on demand services Category:Internet television Category:Companies based in Los Angeles Category:2013 establishments in California Category:Internet properties established in 2013 Category:Viacom Category:2019 mergers and acquisitions